Name: Baked Brie with Roasted Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Ingredients: 1 Whole head garlic; 1 Sprig fresh rosemary; 1 ts Olive oil; 1 Round; (12-ounce) of brie cheese; 3/4 c Sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil; drained and cut into thin strips; 1/3 c Pine nuts; 3 tb Finely shredded fresh basil; Crostini; (toasted slices of good bread that have been brushed with a little olive oil before toasting) or apple slices; Imported green and black olives; Sprigs of fresh basil or rosemary

It seems fair to ask, “God, do You really expect less of me – who has your Holy Spirit within and lives in the wealthiest society in human history – than You demanded of the poorest Israelite?”… The tithe is God's historical method to get us on the path of giving. In that sense, it can serve as a gateway to the joy of grace giving. It is unhealthy to view tithing as a place to stop, but it can be a good place to start… Tithing isn't the ceiling of giving; it's the floor. It's not the finish line of giving; it's just the starting blocks… True, some would be sacrificing more by giving 5% of their income than others would be by tithing or even giving 50 or 90%. Certainly the affluent should never “check off the box,” as if giving 10% automatically fulfills their obligation. The 90% belongs to God, too. He doesn't look at just what we give. He also looks at what we keep… When people tell me they can't afford to tithe, I ask them, “If your income was reduced by 10% would you die?” They say, “No.” And I say, “Then you've admitted that you can afford to tithe. It's just that you don't want to”… I have no problem with people who say “we're not under the tithe,” just as long as they're not using that as justification for giving less. But in my mind the current giving statistics among Christians clearly indicate most of us need a jump-start. If you find a gateway to giving that's better than the tithe, wonderful. But if not, why not start where God started His First Covenant children?

Randy Alcorn

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Dairy, Grains			1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1		Whole head garlic
1		Sprig fresh rosemary
1	ts	Olive oil
1		Round; (12-ounce) of brie cheese
3/4	c	Sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil; drained and cut into thin strips
1/3	c	Pine nuts
3	tb	Finely shredded fresh basil
		Crostini; (toasted slices of good bread that have been brushed with a little olive oil before toasting) or apple slices
		Imported green and black olives
		Sprigs of fresh basil or rosemary

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR SERVING
OPTIONAL GARNISH
GARNISH
Notes: From Orange County Registar
Cook's note: If you can only find small, 4-ounce disks of brie, push 3
small wheels next to one another.
Advance preparation: Garlic can be roasted several days in advance and
stored, airtight, in the refrigerator. You can assemble the brie with the
garlic, tomatoes and pine nuts a day in advance and store, airtight, in the
refrigerator.
Preliminaries: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. Cut off 1/4 inch of pointed end of head of garlic (save small pieces for
another recipe). Place cut side up in a piece of aluminum foil. Place
rosemary on top. Bring sides of foil up to make a deep bowl, but do not
enclose garlic completely. Pour olive oil over top of garlic. Bake for
40-45 minutes in preheated oven. Cool.
2. Squeeze garlic so that the cloves pop out of their papery jackets. They
should be creamy. Smash them and spread on top of brie (including some of
the rosemary). Place brie in ovenproof dish. Top with tomatoes and pine
nuts. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.
3. Bake brie until warm and softened, about 13-18 minutes. If topping is
getting too browned, cover loosely with aluminum foil during last portion
of baking.
4. Sprinkle slivers of fresh basil on top. Surround with crostini and/or
apple slices. Garnish with sprigs of fresh herbs and, if using, drained
imported olives. Provide a spreading knife.
Yield: 24 servings
Nutritional information (per serving): 76 calories, 5.6 grams fat, 2.6
grams saturated fat, 14 milligrams cholesterol, 95 milligrams sodium, 66
percent calories from fat
Posted to recipelu-digest by ncanty@juno.com (Nadia I Canty) on Mar 27,
1998

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